A pre-poll survey conducted by Star News-Nielsen for 90 assembly seats in Chhattisgarh has predicted that ruling BJP is likely to increase its vote-share as well as number of seats while Congress could suffer a setback on both fronts.
'There is a strong possibility of the Raman Singh-led BJP government retaining power in the coming assembly polls in Chhattisgarh. BJP could win 55 seats and if the present trend continues, the BJP tally could go up to 62,' the survey claims.
The survey claims that Congress would lose 1.7 per cent vote share and would be able to manage 33 seats only, 'if the voters do not change their preferences in days to come'.
It warns that Congress tally could even go down to 26.
This would mean a loss of 11 seats for Congress as compared to its tally in last elections in the state.
Polls will be held in the tribal dominated state in two phases on November 14 and 20.
The popularity of Raman Singh as the favourite chief ministerial candidate and the perception among those surveyed that both Congress and BJP were 'equally communal' were some of the reasons, which influenced voters, the survey claims.
The survey was conducted in 39 assembly seats of the state through scientifically designed questionnaire, the organisers said.
A total of 7,871 voters, including 4,071 men and 3,800 women, were asked about their views. In this survey, 6,145 voters were rural while 1,726 voters were from urban areas.
